Converting a Gas Engine to Diesel

[HondaJohn]

New Note: I just noticed that someone else posted the exact same thread here, jeez, I am a space cadet tonight.

I wanted to get some feedback from people before launching into this project. I was thinking that it might be possible to convert a gasoline engine to a diesel engine. I understand that the engines are not built heavy enough to handle the increased compression and knock, but I think that down-rating the horsepower might offset that.

For example, if I were to takes a 500cc parallel twin that is generally rated around 40 horsepower, shave the cylinder head to increase compression (with appropriate readjustment of the cam timing), and install electronic injectors in the spark plug holes, it might be possible to not grenade the whole thing by detuning it.

Generally, 400-500cc diesel engines are rated around 8-10 horsepower. Therefore, if I ran the motorcycle engine at 10 horsepower, all of the components would be operating with a factor of safety of 4, which I think is more than enough to offset the knock and compression. The only potential failure points I can think of are the head gasket, possibly holing the piston, or a valve hitting the piston due to incorrect timing. Anyone else have an opinion on this?